VQL. LYII.
GOVERNOR’S MESSAGE
To the Honorable the Senators and Members
of the House of Representatives, of the Gen-
eral Assembly :—
Fellow-Citizens :—ln obedience to the Con
stitution and laws of this Commonwealth,
you hare assembled to discharge the impor
tant , and responsible duties that devolve
upon you.* To protect the rights and privi
leges of the people, advance their interests,
promote the welfare and prosperiy of the
State, should be the aim and end of all your
legislation. In the discharge of. my duties, it
will be a pleasure to co-operate with you in
the accomplishment of these objects. " .
The past year has been one of unusual
prosperity. The bounties of a kind Provid
ence have not been withheld from our Com
monwealth. A plenteous harvest<has reward
ed the labor of the husbandman. ‘ Honorable
industry, in all its departments,, has been
encouraged. No financial embarrassments—
no commercial distress—no political or social
evils, have interrupted the progress, or check
ed the energies of the people. The great in
terests of education, morality and religion,
havejbeen cherished and sustained. Health
and peace, with their attendant blessings,
have 1 been ours. To Him “who rules the
Nations by his power, and from whom cometh
down’ every good and perfect gift,” are we
indebted for these mercies, and to Him should
be given the homage of our devout gratitude
.and praise.
The financial condition of the Common
wealth is highly satisfactory. Every demand
upon the Treasury has been promptly met
and "paid, without the aid of lobns. The
operations of this department will be exhibit
ed in detail in the report of the State Trea
surer. . f • !
For the fiscal year ending November 30,
1856, the receipts at the Treasury (including
the balance in the Treasury on ttie first day
of December, 1855, of $1,243,69,7 33) have
-been $6,621,937 64. The total expenditures
for the same period, were $5,377,142 22.
Balance in the Treasury, December 1, 1856,
$1,244,795, 42.
Excluding the balance in the treasury on
the first of December, 1855, the receipts, from
all sources, were $5,378,240 33. The ordinary
expenditures for the same period, were $4,-
113,144 77, showing an excess; of receipts
over ordinary expenditures of $1,265,095 56.
The extraordinary payments for the same
year, were $1,263)997 45, follows, viz :
To. the completion of the Portage railroad,
and for the payment of debts previously con
tracted on that work, $181,494' 11; to the.
North Branch extension, $122,723 52 ; to re
lay the soath track of the Columbia railroad
$367,000 00; for motive power iu ; 1855, $llB,-
040, 42; to enlarge the Delaware division of
the Pennsylvania canal, $13,960 00; for
general repairs in 1853-’54-’55, $63,965 11;
to domestic creditors, $l5l 63 ; tin old claims
on the main line, examined\by the commis
sioners, and paid under the Act of May 22,
1856, $130,512 09; to the redemption of
loans, $327,824 47 ; and relief notes cancel
led, $38,217 00. >
The interest on the fuudeci debt which fell
due in February and August last, was then'
paid, and that which becomes due in Febru
ary next, will be paid with equal promptness,
out of available means now in the Treasury.
The punctuality with which the; interest on
the public debt has been paidyaud the abili
ty of the Treasury to meet all legitimate de
mands upon it, have inspired public confi
dence in o.ur securities, and contributed
largely to establish and sustain the credit of
the Commonwealth. . ■
The Commissioners of the Sinking Fund
report the sum of $722,432 93 as due by .the
Treasury to that fund. This amount will be
applied to the redemption of relief noteß now
in circulation, and to the payment of the
funded debt. Heretofore the available means
in the Treasury have been applied, to some
extent, in payment of outstanding tempora
ry loans, which bear an annual interest of six
per centum ; it being deemed advisable as a
matter of economy to pay these loans, rather
than the funded debt, which bears a much
less rate of interest. It is expected that the
; balance of the temporary loans will be paid
’before the close of the current year, and the
operation of the sinking fund resumed and
continued as directed by law.
The funded and unfunded debt of the
State, including temporary loans j on the Ist
day of December, 1855, as per reports of the
Auditor General and State as
follows, viz: 1
FUNDED DEBT.
$ 516.154 93
38,903,445 04
388,300 00
lOO,OOO 00
6 per cent, loan
6 do. do
do. d 0.......
4 do. do
Total funded debt.
UJTFtttfDBD DEBT. i
Relief notes in circulation $258,773 00
Interest certificates outatand'g 29,157 25
Domestic creditors 1,264 00
Balance of temporary loan,
April 19,1853
Balance of .temporary loan,
May 9,1854 346,000 00
Total unfunded debt.
525,000 00
Total debt, December 11555,
The funded and unfunded debt at the of the last
fiscal year, December 1,1856, was as follows* viz
6 per cent, loan $ 511,781 00
6 do. do 38,866,994 60
4% do. do 388,200 00
4 do. do 100,000 00
Total funded debt
CJTFPSDED DEBT, VIZ:
Belief notes in circulation.... $220,556 QO
Interest certificates outstand'g 24,691 37
do. unclaimed 4,448 38
Domestic creditors 1,164 00
Balance of temporary loan,
April 19,1853
Balance of temporary loan,
May 9,1854
Total unfunded debt.
L December 1,18*6,
Total deb&Deeember 1,1855.
do. do. 1,1858.
It thus appears that during the past fiscal
year the sum of three hundred and sixty-six
thousand one hundred and fiftyreight dollars
and ninety-seven cents has heeri paid in li
quidation of the public debt. ■ This, taken in
connection with the faot, that; during the
year ending November 30,1855,'5ix hundred
and thirty thousand six hundred and one
dollars and two cents were paid on the same
account, exhibits the gratifying faot, that the
process of reducing the public debt has com
menced ; and, unless checked by reckless
mismanagement and extravagant expendi
ture, must continue until the people
Common relieved from the debt
and taxation with which they are burdened.
In addition to this reduction of the pubiic
debt, large appropriations and payments were
made for the completion of the Portage rail
road and for debts f recently contracted on *
that work ; for old and unsettled claims re
cently adjusted by the commissioners ap
pointed under the act of last .session ; for
re-laying the south track of the Columbia
railroad ; for enlarging the Delaware division
of the canal, and for other purposes. These
extraordinary demands upon the Treasury
have ceaßed, or will soon cease, with the ne
cessity that created them ; and thus leave a :
still larger portion of the revenues to be ap
plied in payment of the public debt.
A careful examination of the financial con
dition of the Commonwealth—her sources of
revenue and the probable future expendi
tures, has inspired the hope that the time is
not far distant when the public debt will be
fully paid, and this without increasing the
subjects or ratio of taxation. It has already
been shown that the revenues of the past
year exceeded the ordinary expenditures one
million two hundred and sixty-five thousand
ninety-five dollars and fifty-six cents. The
estimated receipts and expenditures for the
current year, which will be presented to you
in the report of the State Treasurer, shows
that the excess of receipts, over ordinary ex
penditures, ipay reach the sum of one and a
half million of dollars. These estimates, al
though approximations, will not be far from
the true result. Allowing, then, four hun
dred thousand dollars for annual extraordin
ary expenditures—and under a 1 wise system
of economy in ho probable : coritingency can
, they e'xoeed that sum—we will have at least
one million of doUars-to be appropriated an
nually for the payment of the public debt.
, JWith-the rapid- development of tie wealth
and resources of the Commonwealth—the '
increase of population— of the value of real j
estate, and of the amount and valne of prop- :
erty of every description, the revenues mus t!
and will continue to increase. This natural ’
and necessary increase of revenue will sup
ply every deficiency and every demand upon .
the Treasury that falls within the range of'
probability If, then, the sum.of one million !
dollars be appropriated annually in liquida- |
tion of thip debt, and the accruing interest j
on the sums paid be applied in the manner j
of a sinking fund, the entire indebtedness of j
the Commonwealth will be extinguished in
less than twenty-three years. If these pre
mises are correct—and their correctness can ’
only be impaired by unwise legislation, or ;
the imprudent management of our finances ■
—the tnith of the proposition is susceptible
of the clearest demonstration. Assuming
the public debt on the first day of D«cmber,
1856, to be, in round numbers, forty millions i
five hundred thousand dollars, and that at
the end of each fiscal year one million dol- ;
■lars, with the’ accruing interests,, on former
payments, will be paid, unerring calculation :
will determine the result to be as before in- ,
d.icated. Thus, before the expiration of the '
year 1879, Pennsylvania may stand redeem
ed from the oppression of her public debt,
and her people be released from a taxation
imposed to meet its accruing interest, and to
maintain th 6 faith and credit of the Com
monwealth. These views are not utopian.
By practicing strict economy in all depart
ments of the government—avoiding extrava- ;
gant expenditure—refusing to ffnereftake any '
new schemes.of internal improVement, and
holding to a rigid accountability the receiv
ing and disbursing agents of the State, their i
realization may be anticipated with oonfi- 1
deuce.
I must again call the attention of the Leg
- islature to a subject referred to in my last
annual message, in the following terms :
“ By the thirty-eighth section of the act of
the 16th of April, 1845, entitled ‘An act to
provide for the ordinary expenses of Govern
ment, the repair of the canals and railroads
; of the State, aud other claims upon the Com
monwealth,’ the Governor was authorized to
cause certificates of State stock to be issued
to all persons or bodies corporate holding
certificates for the payment of interest
uu the funded debt of the State, which
. fell due on the first day of August, 1842. the
first days of February and August, 1843, and
i the first days of February and August, 1844,
| in an amount equal to the amount of certifi
| cates so held, upon their delivering up said
• certificates to the Auditor General. *ln pur
t suanefeof the authority thus given, certifi
j cates of State stock to the amount of four
; millions one hundred and five thousand, one
* hundred and fifty dollars and twenty cents,
I bearing interest at the rate of five per cent.
: per annum, payable semi-annually, on the
I first days of February and August in each
j year, and redeemable on or after the first day
jof August, 1855, were issued. The minimum
I period fixed by law for the redemption of
■[“these certificates, expired on the first day of
! August, 1855. No provision has been made
; for their renewal or redemption.
“ Although by the terms of the act author
-1 izing these certificates of State stock, as also
> by the conditions of the certificates issued in
pursuance thereof, the time of payment, af
ter the expiration of the minimum period, is
optional with the debtor, the Commonwealth,
yet a due regard for the credit of the State
requires that provision should be made for
their renewal or redemption. To redeem
these certificates, a loan would become neces
sary, and as a loan cannot be effected, in the
present financial condition of the country, on
terms more favorable to the State than those
on which these certificates were issued, I
would recommend that authority be given to
issue the bonds of the Commonwealth in re
newal of said certificates, bearing interest at
the rate of five per cent, per annum, payable
semi-annually, and redeemable on or after
the expiratian of twenty years ; and that the
bonds be issued with coupons, or certificates
of interest attached, in sums equal in amount
to the semi-annual interest thereon, payable
on the first days of February and August in
each and every year, at such places as may
be designated. This change in the form and
character of the certificate, it is believed, will
be so advantageous to the holders, without
increasing the liabilities of the Common
wealth, as to induce a willing and prompt
exchange, at a premium for the bonds pro
posed to be exchanged.”
The report of the Canal Commissioners
will he laid before you, and will exhibit in
detail the condition of the publio works—
their general operation, and the (“receipts and
expenditures for the last fiscal y4a>.
The total receipts at the Treasury, from the
public works, for the year ending November
30, 1856, were $2,006,015 66, being an in
crease over the revenues of the previous
year, of $63,638 95. Of this sum $1,013,-
589 16 were canal and bridge tolls, and $992,-
426 50, tolls of the Columbia and Portage
railroad.
-$39,807,799 97
The aggregate expenditures for the same
year were $1,943,896 82, being an increase
over those of the previous year, of $105,105-
64, the revenues exceeding the expenditures
only $62,118 84.
1,160,194 25
$41,067,994 22
The increase of the revenues from these
works would be encouraging, were it not for
the fact that the expenditures have increased
in a still greater proportion—the expendi
tures, ordinary and extraordinary, exhaust
ing almost the entire revenue from this
source. The system must'be defective, or
more care and economy should be exercised
in its management.
The receipts, at the Treasury from the
several divisions, were as follows, viz:
539,860,975 50
400,000 00
184,000 00
834,559 75
Susquehanna, N. Branch and W. Branch
Delaware
.40,701,835 25
Total receipts.
;.$41,067,994 22
... 40,701,835 25
The extraordinary payments during the
year, amounted to $808,892 15 ; ordinary
expenditures, $1,135,004 00 ; net revenue,
(excluding extraordinary payments and for
motive power) $871,011 00.
366,158 97
On the main line the tolls received at the \
Treasury from the Columbia road, were $991,-
676 50; expenditures $528,084 89; tolls on
the Eastern division of canal, from Columbia
to the Junction, $119,71S 36 ; expenditures,
$53,048 50 ; receipts from the Junction to
Pittsburg, including the Portage railroad,
$177,778 00; ordinary expenditures, $304,-
702 22. The total receipts on the main line
were $1,229,272 86; aggregate expenditures, ;
(excluding $267,000 00 paid for re-laying the j
south track of the Columbia railroad, and j
$153,049 41 for motive power in 1855, and |
after December Ist 1856,) were $885,835 65, !
being an excess 6f revenue over
expenditures of $343,437 21.
Although the reoeipts from the Delaware
division are less than those of the previous
year, yet the general result of its operations
is satisfactory. The. net revenue at the
Treasury was $264,095 40. Its'vmanagement
has been-characterized by a degree of econo
- my too seldom practiced on scune of the lines
of our improvements. y
i However important this divisiop.may be to
I the trade and business of that portion of the
State, its proposed enlargement should not
be undertaken, unless demanded by reasons
of over-ruling necessity. The experience of
the past, as connected with the Allegheny
Portage railroad, and the North Branch ex
tension, should warn ns against lindertaking,
without great caution, any new measure of
improvement;'which may drain the Treasury,
: without aiding materially, if at all, the pub
lic interests. If kept in good order by
i efficient and timely repairs, its capacity will
be fully equal to all the demands of its trade
and business.
The Portage railroad is not fully completed.
A small additional appropriation may yet be
required to complete, for the fourth time,
this road. It fs anxiously hoped that this
unproductive improvement may soon oease
its cormorant/demands upon the Treasury.—
Every year’s experience more clearly reveals
the impolicy of the State in undertaking this
work. .
It gives me no ordinary pleasure to inform
you that the Nbrth Branch extension of the
Pennsylvania canal has been so far completed,
that.boats freighted, with coal and other pro-
were successfully passed through'its
entire length from PUtston' to tho
-yr’.'z
$1,229,272 86
426 820 51
349,922 29
2,006,015 66
V«J^S
“THAT COUNTRY IS THE MOBT PROSPEROUS WHERE LABOR COMMANDS THE GREATEST REWARD.”—BUCHANAN,
LANCASTER CITY, PA., TUESDAY MORNING, JANUARY 13, 1857.
canal. This work was commenced in 1836
in 1841; —resumed in 1849, and
finished in 1856; although its completion was
officially announced in 1853. It extends from
Pittston to the New York State line, a dis
tance of about ninty-four miles, following the
valley of the Susquehanna to Athens, and
thence along the Chemung river to the State
line, where it joins the ‘“Junction canal,” and
is thu3 connected with the New York im
provements. ;
The importance - and value of this improve
ment cannot be easily over-estimated. Pass
ing through one of the richest mineral and
agricultural portions of the- State, it offers to
the immense and valuable products of that
region, a safe and cheap transit to the mar
kets of New York, Baltimore and Philadel
phia. In the completion of this canal the
difficulties to he overcome, and the labor to be
performed, were great. Both these, to a great
extent, have been accomplished under the
superintendency of Wm. R. Maffet, Esq.>, to
whom this work was assigned.
This canal although completed, and before
the close of Navigation, used for the purpose
of transportation, is not perfect. Sinks in the
bottom, from the nature of the formation and
soils through which it passes, slides from the
hills, and breaches may occur, but these, af
ter a few years of well applied labor, will be
diminished, and by vigilance and care entire
ly prevented.
This improvement, although subject to the
rivalry of competing railroads, if kept in good
condition, under proper management, will re
ceive its full share of coal and other tonnage.
It is anticipated that the revenues, for the
current year, will equal, if not exceed the ex
penditures; and increasing with the facilities
afforded, and the rapid development of trade,
will, instead of its heretofore unceasing de
mands upon the Treasury, take precedence
iu revenue over any canal in the Common
wealth. /
In relation to the propriety and policy of
the sale of the main line of our pablic im
provements, my opinion has not changed.
Every consideration of public policy, of pres
ent and future interest, requires the separa
tion of the State from the management and
control of these works. The expenditures on
that portion of the line, between the Junction
and Pittsburg, largely exceed the revenues,
the excess averaging annually not less than
one hundred and fifty thousand dollars; and
causes are in constant operation that will still
more increse this deficiency. This continual
drain upon the Treasury, to sustain a work,
so unproductive, should at once be checked.
A sale of the main line, for a fair consideration,
and upon terms just and liberal to the pur
chasers, is the proper remedy. Such sale, on
terms amply protective of the rights and in
terest of the people, can, by proper legislation,
be effected. In connection with the payment
of the public debt, this question becomes deep
ly important. The sale would constitute a
new era in the financial history of the State,
and assure a still more speedy reduction of
the public debt, than that to which reference
has been made. The subject is earnestly com
mended to your favorable consideration..
The subject of banks aud banking capital
in its relations to the currency—the general
interests of trade and commerce and the indus
trial pursuits of the citizen, deserve your
careful attention. My views expressed in a
former communication remain unchanged.
The incorporation of new, or the re-cliarter of
old .and solvent banks, when actually neces
sary, and demanded by the wants of legitimate
trade in the corfununity where located, should
be favored ; under no other circumstances
should either be permitted. In the creation
of banks, the interests of the State aud people
should be consulted, and a just discrimina
tion as to number, locality aud the demands
of trade be exercised. .
The rapid increase of population, the impor
tance and value of our home and foreign com
merce, the constant developement of the ma
terial wealth of the State, the extent of our
manufacturing, mechanical and agricultural
industry, the fact that the State is flooded'by
a depreciated currency introduced by private
bankers and brokers,'might"justify, nnderthe
restrictions and limitations indicated, a judi
cious increase of banking capital within our
Commonwealth. This, whilst it would aid
the operations of trade, and supply the real
business wants of the people, would at the
same time, remedy, to some extent, the
evils of a depreciated foreign and illegal cur
rency.
By the act approved the 6th day of. N
ovember last, the thirteenth section of the act
of 1850, regulating bankSj will be, after the
first day of July next, extended to all incor
porated saving fund, trust apd insurance com
panies. That section declares “that it shall
not for any of the said banks to is
sue or pay out any bank notes other than
those issued by itself payable on demand in
gold or silver ; notes of specie paying banks
of this State which are taken on deposit or in
in payment of debts, at par, at the counter of
the bank where paid out; or notes of banks
issued under the authority of the act of the
14th of May, 1841, at the option of the person
received the same.”
These enactments were intended to protect
the community against the evils of a depre
ciated currency, and pi event its introduction
from other States. However well intended,they
will fail to secure these objeots, unless made
to embrace private bankers and others of
class, whose profits are largely dependant up
on the introduction into the State of sttch
a currency. In many instances, the notes' of
our own banks are collected by private bank
ers and brokers, and with these, or with the
specie withdrawn from the banka issuing
them, they purchase depreciated and foreign
bank paper, which is paid out at par at their
counter. But others, large loans ar negotiat
ed with banks out of the State, at less . than
the usual rate of invest, and their notes, of
ten of a less demonination than five dollars
and always at discount, brought into tlie
State and put into circulation in the manner
indicated, and this, too, under an agreement
with the bank making the loan, that the
notes thus paid out shall be kept in circuia
j tion. The effect of this system of private
j banking has been to limit the circulation ,of
the par paper of onr own banks, and substi
tute in its place a foreign depreciated, and'
often a worthless currency. In justice to
the bank, trust and insurance companies, pay
ing a heavy annual tax to the Common
wealth for their privileges, and for the pro
tection of the people against these evils eith
i er the provisions of the thirteenth section of
: the act of 1850, should be repealed, or further
I extended so as to embrace private indiviu&ls
! and associations, who may monopolize and
! control, ? to the detriment of the public, this
: traffic in depreciated bjmk paper, without re
straint and without taxation.
The report of the Superintendent of Com-
I mon Schools, will exhibit to you the number !
j and condition of the schools—the number of j
teachers and scholars, and the general opera- j
I tions of the system during the past year. To 1
the valuable statistical information of the 1
! report, and the useful .suggestions for the im- ;
; provement of the system, I iuvit<> your early i
; and intelligent consideration.
From a small and comparatively unimpor
tant incident of the State Department the care
and management of the public schools of the
Commonwealth, with seventeen hundred dis
tricts, ten thousand directors, twelve thou
sand teachers, and over five hundred thou
sand scholars, have become the most impor
tant and laborous branch of the Department.
The increased and increasing business of the
system has been met by a correspondent in
crease of zeal, labor and efficiency in the of
ficers whom the law has committed its
general direction and supervision. They
should be sustained by wise and generous
legislation. The magnitude and importance
of the system, in its political, sooial and
moral relations to the present and future
of the people, require that this should be
done. The guardianship of the mind of
the State should occupy a distinct and prom
inent place among the noble institutions of
the Commonwealth. It should receive the
efficient aid and encouragement of the gov
ernment, and be sustained by a virtuous and
intelligent people. If the revenue andtreasu
res of the State—her public
her lands and their, titles, require and deserye
the marked and distinctive care of the gov
ernment, how much more shouTdher menial
and inteUestmal treasures, richer than gold—
the social and moral improvement of her
people, more valuable than canals and rail
w&y_the titles of her youth to the boundless
fields of knowledge higher than any of earth
or aught growing oat of its' ownership, claim
an honorable position, and receive a care and
aid commensurate with their greater value
and usefulness.
The County Superintendenoy, wherever it
ha 3 been committed to faithful and efficient
men, has fully vindicated the wisdom and
policy of that measure. It is slowly, but
surely removing the prejudices and gaining
the confidence of the people. Whatever de
fects time and experience may develops, in
this or any other branch of the system, should
be promptly corrected. But until the neces
sity for change is established, the system, in
its unity and integrity, should be maintain
ed ; and if changed, ohanged only to render
more certain the accomplishment of its noble
purposes and objects.
A sufficient number of competent well train
ed teachers is the great want of the system.
In its structure and organization it is as perfect
if not more so, than any of the systems of
gur sister States. Bat the teacher, is wanted;
to give it proper vitality and efficiency—to
develope its true force and value—to,* secure
the great object of its creatipri, the thorough
education of the youth of thb Commonwealth.
How can this want be supplied ? tfow are
teachers to be trained and provided to meet
this educational demand ? Must we be de
pendent upon the training schools of other
States ? MustAmr system be jeoparded, and
its success perilled, by waiting the slow and
unaided efforts of voluntary associations to
furnish4he much needed teacher’ Volun
taryassociations of common school teachers
have accomplisliedffluch in their disinterest
ed and noble efforts to remedy this defect.
They are worthy the highest commendation—
they deserve every encouragement. They can
aud will do more; but unaided they cannot ac
complish the object desired. The Legislature
must provide the remedy—they can supply
the deficiency. It should be done promptly
and effectually. No subject of greater interest
can occupy your attention as legislators—no
one appeals more earnestly to duty and patri
otism.
In a former communication to the Legisla
ture the establishment of State Normal
schools, for the education of teachers, was
urged as indispensably necessary to the per
fection of the system. With full confidence
in their utility and necessity, I again recom
mend them. These institutions, with their
proper professors, and appliances, supported
by the State, would meet the wants and ele
vate the character of our common schools.
Teachers’ Institutes, as - auxiliary to Normal
Schools, when in operation, and supplying
their place till established, should be aided
by the State. One such Institute in eaoh
county, meeting annually, under the foster
ing care of the government, would be pro
ductive of most beneficial results. Whilst
it would improve teachers and prepare them
for their important and responsible duties, it
would elevate and dignify a profession tod
long neglected aud under-valued by those
most deeply interested in their honorable la
bors. These measures, as also in addition to
the annual State appropriation for common
schools, in an amount limited only by the
necessities of the Treasury, would give ener
gy to the system—increase its efficiency—and
thus promote the true interests of the people
aud the Commonwealth.
Our educational, charitable and reforma
tory institutions have strong claims upon
the bounty of the people, and I cordially
commend them to your care and liberality.
The State Lunatic Asylum at Harrisburg,
and the Western Pennsylvania Hospital for
the insane, and other kindred purposes at
Pittsburg, are noble charities, and deserve
the aid and encouragement of the State.—
The annual reports of these institutions will
be laid before you, aud will exhibit, in detail,
their operations during the past year.
The House of Refuge in Philadelphia, and
the Western House of Refuge near Pittsburg,'
are institutions of great excellence, and their
results clearly establish the wisdom of the
policy that founded aud sustains them.—
They ought not to be neglected ; nor should
the aid of the Commonwealth be held from
them.
The “Blind” and the “ Deaf and Dumb
Asylums” at Philadelphia; and “title, Penn
sylvania Training School for and fee
ble minded children,” are institutions that
appeal, in silence and sorrow, to the best and
purest feelings of the heart, aud ask your
sympathy and aid. They should receive a
generous share of the benefactions of the
State.
Agriculture, in its varied departments, is
the great interest of the Commonwealth.-,
It is the basis alike of the financial and com
mercial success, and of State and national
prosperity. An interest so important should
be fostered by the State, and honored by all
classes of society. To its promotion and suc
cess all should cheerfully contribute. In a
former communication I recommended the
establishment of an Agricultural bureau, in
connection with some one of the State De
partments, to give.efficiency to the collection
and diffusion of useful knowledge on this
subject, and to encourage scientific and prac
tical agriculture. Science, and wonderous
energy, has aided the husbandman in his
honorable vocation, and proffers still more
help. The State should nerve his arm and
cheer him onward in this, the first and no
blest pursuit of man. This subject, in con
nection with an appropriation to the “ Farm
ers High School of Pennsylvania”—an in
stitution destined to be an honor to the
Commonwealth—is recommeuded to your fa
vorable consideration.
The “ Polytechnic College of Pennsylva
nia,” established by the enterprise and liber
ality of some of the patriotic citizens of Phil
adelphia, as a school of the applied sciences,
deserves honorable mention, and should re
ceive.the confidence and patronage of^the pub
lic. In the teachings of this institution, liter
ature, science and art, in happy union, meet
to prepare our young men for the practical
business of life, for mining, mechanical and
civil engineering, and for promoting intelli
gently and efficiently the great interest of
manufacturing and agricultural industry.
. The laws on the statute book regulating
manufacturing aDd improvement companies
require revision. They are unnecessarily
stringent in many of their provisions, and
thus defeat the object of their enactment.
They drive capital.tfrom the State, instead of
inviting its investment here ; and instead of
encouragiDg individual and associated enter
prise and energy in the development of our
immense natural resources, they bind and
crush both by severe restrictions—unwise
limitations and personal liabilities. The sub
ject deserves careful attention and liberal
legislation. ’•
I have so frequently expressed my views in
relation to local, special and “ omnibus” leg
islation, that their reiteration now becomes
1 unnecessary. Legislation, so far as practica
■ ble, should be general and uniform. Local
j and special legislation, when the objeot de
} sired can be secured by general laws, or by
| the action of the courts, should be avoided,
i “ Omnibus legislation'* caunjt, under any
I circumstances, be justified or approved. Too
, much legislation is an evil that prevails exten
' sively in legislative halls. Its avoidance
I would not be injurious to public or private
| interests.
j . The practice of delaying the passage of the
; general appropriation bill until the last days
j of the session, and incorporating in it provi
i sioris incompatible with Tftpgeneral charac
i ter, and obnoxious, when standing alone, to
! insurmountable objections, is highly censur
i able and Bhould be discontinued. The at
] tempt thus made to force, by a species of
legislative legerdemain, the passage of objeo
. tionable measures through the Legislature,
j and compel their sanction by the Executive,
j has been too often successful. The practice
| cannot be too strongly condemned; it cannot
receive my sanction.
The militia law of the State is imperfect in
i many of its provisions, and should be revised.
, The powers and duties of the Commander-in
; Chief should be more clearly defined ; as also
i of the other officers connected with the mili
tary organization of the Commonwealth.
This is necessary to prevent a conflict of juris
diction with other departments of the govern
ment, and to give greater' efficiency to onr
military system. Volunteer companies should
be encouraged; our entire military system
should be remodeled, and made to occupy
that honorable position which from its im
portance and necessity it deserves. ,
Near the close of session of the
Legislature, I transmitted to that body an
ordinance passed select and common
councils of the city of Philadelphia, approv
ed by the Mayor oh the 7th of April, 1856,
and officially communicated to me, proposing
to convey to the Commonwealth of Pennsyl
vania a lot of ground in that city, for the
purpose of erecting thereon a State arsenal.
Want of time alone prevented action on the
proposition then submitted. The ground
thus offered to the State is valuable, and its
location most eligible for the purpose intend
ed. The, conditions of the proposed grant
are favorable to the State, and highly credita
ble to the municipal authorities of Philadel
phia, evincing a liberality and public spirit
worthy of all commendation. The necessity -
of a State arsenal in that city is so apparent
that the subject needs no elaboration in this
communication. After the sale of the State
arsenal in Philadelphia, the publio arms
deposited in jan old building, or out hoarse,
unsafe and unfit as a depository for public
property. The sum of $30,000, realized from
that sale, is now in the Treasury; and by
the fifty-fifth section of an act passed the
19th day of April, A. D. 1853, entitled “An
Act to provide for the ordinary expenses of
government,” &c., the Governor was authori
zed to apply the same to the purchase of a
lot of ground and to the erection of an arse
nal thereon. This sum was found insufficient
for these purposes, aud consequently the ob
ject intended by the appropriation has not
been accomplished. By the cession of this
lot, the State, will be relieved from the ex
penditure of any money for the purchase of
suitable grounds ; and the entire sum of
$30,000 may he applied to the erection of the
necessary buildings ; to which sum can be
added, if deemed advisable, the amount that
may be realized from the sale of the arsenals
at Meadville and Harrisburg, as recommend
ed in my last annual message. These sums
would be amply sufficient to accomplish this
object.
I would, therefore, again recommend the imme
diate passage of a bill accepting the conveyance
of the said lot of ground from the city of Philadel
phia, for the purposes and upon the terms and con
ditions contained in the ordinance ; and that the
sum of $30,000 be appropriated for the ereotion of
a State arsenal thereon.
On the 6th day of Ootober, 1856,1 approved and
signed a bill, entitled, 11 An Aot to Repeal the
Charter of the Erie ancTTjDrth. East Railroad Com
pany, and to provkhTforthe disposal of the same.”
In pursuance of its provisions, Hon. Joseph Casey
was appointed to take possession and have the
obarge and custody of the road. Before possession
was taken, application was made by the company,
to one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Penn
sylvania, for an injunction to restrain the agent of
the State from taking possession; and subsequent
ly a cautionary order was made by the Supreme
Court, in banc, to stay proceedings under the act.
The questions then pending before that Court were
determined in favor of the CommonweaKb=tirer ‘
constitutionality of the aot sustained, and the ap
plication for an injunction refused. Possession of
the road was then taken by the agent of the State,
as directed bylaw.
On the 22d day of April, 1856, an act, entitled,
“ An Act supplementary to the act incorporating
the Erie and North East Railroad Company,” was
passed. £y this act, the Erie and North East
Railroad, as originally located and constructed,
was legalized and confirmed ; and certain changes
in the road were directed to be made, and other
acts to be done by the company. It was also pro
vided “ That the Govenor shall retain possession
of the Erie and North East Railroad, under the
act of the 6th of October, 1855, until the provi
sions of this act shall have been acoepted by a
vote of the stockholders of the Erie and North
East Railroad Company, at a meeting called for
the purpose. 1 ' On the fifteenth day of May, 1856,1
at a meeting of the stockholders called for the pur
pose, the provisions of the act were accepted by
their vote. This acceptance, duly certified, was
received and filed in their Department, on the 15th
of July last. Possession of the road has been re
stored, and it is now under the care and manage
ment of the company. A final account for the
money received from the road, whilst in possession
of the State, will be settled by the company at the
earliest practicable period.
It is but proper to state that since the accep
tance of the act of the 22nd of April, 1856, a writ
of error, in the cases adjudicated by the Supreme
Court of Pennsylvania, has been issued at the suit*.,
ofthe company by the Supreme Court of the Uni
ted States, and is now pending in that court.
The commissioner first appointed having resign
ed, A. K. M’Clure, Esq., was appointed in his
place The duties of both officers were ably and
faithfully performed. Copies of their correspon
dence and reports, herewith submitted to the
House of Representatives, for the use of the Le
gislature, will furnish information in detail on the
subject now under consideration. It is sincerely
desired that good faith and honesty of purpose may
characterize the conduct of this company in the
discharge of the duties assumed by their acceptance
of the act of 22d of April last, and that this much
vexed question will not again disturb the harmony,
or retard the prosperity of the city of Erie, or any
other portion of this Commonwealth.
The resolution proposifag amendments to the Con
stitution of the Commonwealth, have been pub
lished as directed by that instrument. It will be
your duty to take such action in reference of these
amendments as will, in your judgment, be most
consistent with the wishes of the people. An ap :
propriatipn will be required to pay the expenses of
their publication,and to. this your earliest attention
is requested. '
The important duty of districting the State for
the election of Senators and Representatives, will
devolve upon you. This duty shall be performed
faithfully, and with strict reference to the interests
and rights of the whole people. Returns of taxa
ble?, required to be made by counties
have not all been forwarded to this Department,
as by law directed. Circulars have been issued to
the officers charged with these duties, urging the
speedy performance, and the returns will, as soon
received, be transmitted to you.
The elective franobise is the highest and most
responsible privilege enjoyed by the American citi
zen. Involving in its exercise the sovereignty of
the people, and constituting, as it does, the sub
stratum of our free institutions, it cannot be too
highly appreciated or carefully guarded. The
ballot-box, through which the people speak their
will, should be preserved from violation at every
hazard and sacrifice. Upon its parity and integ
rity, depend the existence of our Republican gov
ernment, and the rights and' privileges of the cit
izen. Every legal voter, whatever may be his
political affinities or party predilections, is deeply
interested in this question. Anyfattempt to sally
its purity, or impair its efficiency/whether by vio
lence or fraud, should be sternly resisted and se
verely punished. Illegal voting, whether founded
on forgery or peijury, or both-—on false assess
ments, or false and forged certificates of naturali
zation, —is an evil that deserves the severest con
demnation. • It prevents an honest expression of
the popular will, corrupts the sources of legitimate
power and influence, and strikes a fatal blow at
the cherished rights of freemem These evils are
alleged to exist in oar large cities—the rural dis
tricts of the State are comparatively free from
such corrupting abuses. A remedy, co-extensive
with the evil, should be provided. Every defence
should be thrown around the ballot-box, and
whilst the ( rights of legal voters should be seoured
and protected, fraud in every form should be pre*
vented and punished. Whether a judicious regis
try law, or some other measure of reform, adequate
to the necessities of the case, should be adopted,
is referred to the wisdom of the Legislature.
As appropriate to the subject, the reform of the
naturalization laws—the prevention by the Na
tional Government, of the importation of foreign
criminals and paupers, and a more careful, rigid
personal examination, by our courts, of all persons
coming before them as applicants foj admission to
the rights of citizenship, would, to some extent,
correct existing abases, and relieve the ballot-box
from the pressure of corrupting and dangerous in
fluences.
To the policy and acts of the National Govern
ment, affecting as they do, the rights and interests
of the Commonwealth, the people of the State
cannot be indifferent. Pennsylvania, occupying a
high and conservative position in the sisterhood of
States—devoted to the Constitution and the Union,
in their integrity and harmony, has been, and will
ever be, as ready to recognize the rights of her
sister States as to defend her own. These senti
ments she never abandoned—these principles she
has never violated. Pledged to the maintenance
of the rights of the North, as well as those of the
South—sincerely desirous to promote the peace,
harmony and welfare of our whole country—and
disclaiming all intention or desire to interfere with
the Constitutional rights of the States, or their
domestio institutions—the people of the Common
wealth viewed with alarm and. apprehension the
repeal of the Missouri Compromise—a compromise
rendered sacred with the great cause of national
harmony and union—regarding it as a palpable
violation of the plighted faith and honor of the
nation, and os an unwarrantable attempt to extend
the institution of domestio slavery to the territo
ries- (hen free. This Teeklees and inde fendbl* set
; of,our National Congress, has not only aroused
; sectional jealousies and renewed the agitation of
vexed and distracting questions, but, as a conse
> quence, it has filled Kansas with fraud, violence
j aud strife—has stained its soil with blood, and by
i a system of territorial legislation, jnstly styled
i “infamous,” has mode freedom of speech and of.
the press a felony, and periled the great principles
of liberty and equal rights. If the dootrine of
1 “popular sovereignty" is in good faith to be applied
ito tha^ 1 Territory—if the people thereof are to be
left “perfectly free to form and regulate their do
i mestic institutions in their own way, subject only
, to the Constitution of the United States,” then
■ the obstruction of the great National highways to
the northern emigrant—the employment of the
National forces, and the subversion of law and
justice alike by the officials in Kansas and Wash
ington,l to force slavery npon an unwilling people, ,
| cannot be too severely condemned. •
i Freedom is the great centre-truth of Amerioau
| Republicanism—the great law of Amerioan Na- |
j tionalityslavery is the exception. It is local
and sectional : and its extension beyond the juris '<
•'diotion creating it, or to the free territories of the !
Union, was never designed or contemplated by the.j
patriot fonoders of the Republic. In accordance j
with these sentiments, Pennsylvania, true to the
principles of the act of 1780, which abolished !
slavery within her territorial limits—true to the !
-great doctrines of the Ordinance of 1787, which !
dedicated to freedom the north-western territory i
of the Union—true to National faith and National !
honor, asks and expects, as due to her own citi- :
tens who have, in good faith, settled in the terri
tory of Kansas, and as due to the industry and
energy of a free people, that Kansas should be
free.
In this connection, and as consequent upon tbe
repeal of the Missouri Compromise, reference to a
proposition made by some of tbe leading southern
journals, and more recently sanctioned by high of
ficial authority in a sister State, to re open the
African slave trade, will not be deemed improper.
That such a traffic, declared to be piracy, and ex
ecrated by the civilized world—so crowded with
horrors in every stage of its pursuit—so revolting
to every sentiment of humanity—every impulse of
pure and noble feeling, should be advocated or ap
proved, in this ninteenth century, with apparent
sincerity, and urged as a measure of political econ
omy and of justice and equality to the southern
States of the Unian, are facts that find their only
explanation and apology in a wild enthusiasm, or
a still wilder fanatioism that overwhelms alike the
reason and the conscience. The wisdom and hu
manity of a proposition so startling and monstrous,
must seek their parallel and illustration in the
dungeons of the Inquisition, or in the hold of the
slave ship, ; amid the horrors of the “ middle pas
sage.” Equally repulsive to the intelligent and
virtuous sentiment of the south as well as the north
it should receive the indignant rebuke of every
friend of justice and humanity. The history of the
world and of crime does not reveal a traffic more
inhuman —an attrocity more horrible. Against a
proposition so abhorent, and against the principles
it involves, as the representatives of a free people,
and their name yon should enter their unanimous
and emphatic protest.
The union of the States, which constitutes us
one people, should be dear to you—to every Amer
ican citizen. In the heat and excitement of polit
ical contests—in the whirl of sectional and conflic
ting interests —amid the surging of pass
sions, harsh and discordant voices may be beard,
threatening its integrity and denouncing its doom ;
but in the calm, “ sober, second thought” of a
4>atriotic‘and virtuous people, will be found its se
curity and defence Founded in wisdom, and cher
ished by the intense affection of pure and devoted
patriotism, it will stand, safe and undisturbed,
amid the insane rage of political demagogism, and
the fitful howling of frantic fanaticism ; and when
it falls—if fall it must—it will be when liberty and
truth, patriotism and virtue, have perished. Penn
sylvania tolerates no sentiment of disunion—she
knows not the word. Disunion ! “ ’tis an after
thought—a monstrous wish—unborn till virtue
dies.” The Union and the Constitution—.he safe
guard and bond of American Nationality—will be
revered and defended by every American Freeman
who cherishes the principles and honors tbe mem
ory of the illustrious founders of the Republic.
Recognizing our responsibility to Him who con
trols the destinies of nations and of men ; and invo
king his blessing on your deliberations, may order
and harmony characterize your sessions, and with
single reference, to the public good, may your
legislative action, in its character and.results, pro
mote tbe happiness and welfare of the people, and
the honor and prosperity of the Commonwealth.
JAMES POLLOCK
Executive Chamber, t \
Harrisburg, January 7, 1857. j
REPORT
To the Stockholders of the liancaster Bank
The undersigned committee of Stockholders
of said Bank, appointed to investigate its con
dition and make report—
1. Whether said Bank Is solvent or insolvent
2. If found insolvent,<to report the caase or causes of
such insolvency, and the mannerin which U was pro
duced :
3. The time or times when the losses ware Incurred
that have tendered It Insolvent:
4. The names of the officers underwViose
administration the insolvency of the BaDk occurred—
respectfully beg leave to submit to this meet
ing, That having made the investigation direct
ed by the resolution under which they were
appointed, and after a careful examination of
the assets and liabilities of the Bank, have
come to the conclusion that the statement sub
mitted to the Stockholders at a former meet
ing, was a fair and impartial exhibition of the
condition of the Bank—thus leaving no doubt
of its insolvency to an amount sufficient to ab
sorb the entire capital stock and a portion of
the deposites.
The insolvency of the Bank can be readily
traced to a combination of causes, each con
tributing to waste its resources and encroach
upon its assets. Instead of accomodating the
business community in the locality of the
Bank, where the Directors had the means of
knowing the responsibility of the drawers and
endorsers of the paper offered for discount, it
loaned an amount exceeding .three-fourths of
its capital to a few individuals (its President
and Cashier among the number,) for the pur
pose of building the Simbury and Philadelphia
Railroad—erecting extensive iron establish
ments, and developing the Shamokin Coal
fields —projects, which, every man of even
ordinary discretion must have foreseen, would
lock up the'funds of the Bank, thus loaned to
those parties, for a long space of time ; and, if
those speculations should prove disastrous,
must inevitably lose to the Bank the money
loaned for such purposes.
In consequence of the entire capital of the
Bank being locked np: either by being on the
protest list, invested in factory stock, and in
loans to its President, DaYiD Longexeckeb, and
bis co-operators in the Shamokin Coal specu
lations, resort was had to various illegitimate
methods of banking, in order to carry its cir
culation, but which in rapid succession only
tended still more to cripple its condition.—
Among the expedients resorted to by the Bank
to carry its circulation, without the basis of its
capital, was the furnishing of its bills to wild
cat Savings Institutions, private banking es
-tablishmetits, and even private individuals, in
large amounts, charging interest at the rate of
three per cent, per annum, with the under
standing, on the part of this class of borrowers,
that they should keep those bills afloat, so as
not to incommode the Bank. By this means
one single individual has become indebted to
the Bank in a very large amount, which in
debtedness is put down among the doubtful
and bad assets. But independent of the insol
vency of the parties to whom the bills of the
bank were thus famished in large amounts for
circulation, this method of keeping up a circu
lation was the cause of additional losses. —
These bills of the bank found their way to
Philadelphia, the commercial mart of Pennsyl
vania, where it was required they should be
redeemed in gold or silver; and in order to do
this the notes and bill? of exchange which had
been discounted at the counters of the Bank,
at legal rates, were sent to Philadelphia, and
theriftßrid at a discount, rating from to 3 per
per cem. per month: More than $90,000 of
the insolvency of the Bank can be traced to the
payment of extra interest to meet the demands
of its circulation.
Among other causes of its insolvency may
be mentioned the transfer to the Bank of $20,-
000 worth of factory,stock at par by David
Lon'gejteckeb, the President, on the 29th of
January, 1852, when in fact the stock was not
selling at more than $l4 to $l6 per 6hare, the
par value being $5O per share. Also, in the
exohange by the Bank of $13,500, James’
Loan, at par, being a loan Becured by first
mortgage on Conestoga Steam Mill, No. 3, for
325 shares Lancaster Bank Stock at $6O per
share. This exchange was directed by the
Board of Directors in May, 1855, the stock to
be transferred to the Bank before the first of
November, 1855; but the stock was not trans
ferred until-after the May dividend in 1856.
Mr. Loxgsicbckss, however, took immediate
poftMMlon of theaeowitiw Jwaw’Loao,
after the Board agreed to the exchange/ tiros*
defrauding the Bank out of either the yeart
interest on the James’ Loan or the two divi
dends on the 225 shares of Lancaster Bank
Stock.
Another direct, palpable and gross fr&ud ws*
committed upon the Bank in May, 1656, by
which it lost $4,000 of good securities in the
following manner: In February, 1856, & reso
lution passed the Board of Directors for the
appointment of a Committee to investigate its
condition, and on the 3d of-March* 1856/lthe
following Committee was announced, vis; Hats
horn Freeland, Brsj. Eshleman, Augustus
Boyd, A. Herb Smith, and Bbsj. C. BachkaN,
Esqrs. This committee proceeded in the
charge of their duties, and made considerable
progress, before the dividends were declared in
May, 1856. On the Bth of May, after the divi
dend was declared, Mr. Boyd, a member of that
committee, moved the Board of Directors to
allow Mr. Uleim to exchange with, the Bank its
stook at $55 per share for a bond of $4,000,
which the Bank held against Mr. Glsoc U |
principal, and five other responsible names if 1
sureties, winch was allowed by the Board jto
be done. Mr. Glew not having at th%t tins
the stock to transfer, Mr. Boyd prooured tat
him a power-of-attomey from his brother, J.
Taylor Boyd, ; and his brother-in-law, T. W.
Henderson, for the transfer to the Bank of the
stock held by them respectively, and also gave
a power-of-attorney to transfer the stook held
by Mr. Boyd himself, thus palming upon the
Bank its stock at $55 per share, when he aad
the members of the Board of Directors must
have known, the stock of the Bank to be worse
than worthless.
Among other oauses, also, of the insolvency
of the Bank,-was the payment of the notes of
parties without there being funds standing to ’
their credit in the institution to meet them.—
The most barefaced in criminal transactions of
that kind may be summed up as follows; In
March, 1855, Wm. L. Helfenstein had notes
maturing in the Lancaster Savings Institution
for over $50,000. These notes were endorsed:
by either the President or Cashier of the Lan
caster Bank, in their individual capaoity, and
also by J.so. F. Long and Thomas Baumgard
ner, then also Directors of the Bank. At the
maturity of these notes they were presented
to the Lancaster Bank for payment, and were
directed by the Cashier to be paid, although
at the time Mr. Helfenstein had no funds - in
Bank to liis credit to meet them—thus appro
priating the funds of the Bank to their own
private indebtedness to an amount exceeding
$50,000.
Another cause of the insolvency of the
Bank, was the taking away from it, by David
Longeneckee, of $14,000 of first mortgage
Sunbury Railroad bonds, which had been ta
ken by the Bank as collateral and returning to
it in lieu thereof an equal amount of the Beo
ond mortgage bonds. •'
So early as 1549, when Christian Bachman
was its Cashier, several transactions took plaoe
which were the means of losing to the Bank,
more than $50,000; One of which' was the
loaning, to Mr. Shoenbergeb, $25,000 of the
money of the Bankj without the approbation
of the Board of Directors; the other was the
loaning to F. A. Vandyke, a broker in Phila
delphia, $25,000 for which a specie certificate
was taken, and which is still in Bank, having
been eouhted as specie from 1849 to this time,
in the assets of the Bank.
Among other losses to the Bank, may be
enumerated subscriptions of Stock to Railroads.
On the 27th of December, 1852, the Board of
Directors subscribed $5,000 in the Stock of the
Philadelphia and West Chester Railroad Com*
pany; and on the 13th day of September,
1852, the Board subscribed $5,000 in the Stock
of the Sun bury Railroad Company—invest
ments of the funds of the Bank foreign to the
objects of the Legislature in conferring bank
ing privileges; and no Bank oan exist in. a
healthy condition, with its funds locked up in
securities, from which gold or silver can not be
realized to meet the demands of its circulation,
and which are so liable to depreciation.
The whole management.of this Bank, from v
1848 to the day its doors closed, has been !
characterized by wicked criminality on the •
part of the President and former Cashier, and
gross negligence on the part of the Directors,
in whom was confided that trust by the Stock
holders. It has been used as a family affair,
without any regard to the rights of Stock
holders and Depositor, as if its capital had
been placed there for the especial benefit” of
those, who, by misplaced public confidence,
succeeded in the control of its management.
From the sworn statements of B. C. Bach- ,
man, its Cashier, annually furnished to the/
Auditor General, as required by law, the pub
lic were credulously led to believe the Institu
tion was in a sound condition; but, from an ex
amination of the books, these sworn statement*
are found to have been false, and were known'
to be so by the Cashier at the time he made
them.
As an example of the manner In which the
Bank was used for the benefit of some of the
Directors, the minutes of the Board show that
on March 13th, 1854, a private banker,- then
in the Board, was authorized to overdraw hi*
account, $lO,OOO, paying interest at the rate of
three per cent per annum. This money, wai t
of course, used in shaving paper, and -was lia
ble to be returned to the counters of the Bask
the next day, and gold or silver demanded for
it.
It may be that some of the paper held by
the Bank, which is now worthless, was dis
counted by D. Longeneckeb and B. C. Bach
man*, the President and Cashier, without the
knowledge of the Board of Directors; but the
notes thus discounted were not drawn at one'
time, but ran through a course of years; and
it was the duty of the Directors to have known
what done behind the board— which they
could easily have known by looking at the
books. Np investigation of the condition of
the Bank was had from the year 1848 until
the year 185 6—evidencing a degree of care
lessness and negligence, on the part of the
Directors, entirely inexcusable.
The losses which rendered the Bank insol
vent occurred gradually from 1849 up to the
time the Bankfclosed its doors. The commit
tee had not time to place the several losses to
each year when they occurred.
W. W. BROWN, Chairman ..
CARDS.
.r. John. 91’CaUa, DENTIST—Office-No 4 Bast
King street, Lancaster, Pa. Upl l 8 tf-lfl
JUNIUS B. KAUFMAN, ATTORNEY 1 AT LAW,
baa removed his office to his residence, in Duke street,
ft rst door south of the Farmers’ Bank’ near the Court Houm.
ap i , / lyU
Removal.- william a. amweg, attorn by
AT LAW, has removed his Office from htt former pile*,
into North Duke street opposite the new Court Hooff.
apr 8 tf 12
Remoral.— ISAAC E. lUKSTER—Attorney at Law-
Has removed to an Office In North Duke itreetj heartj
pposits the new Court House, Lancaster, Pa,
*rl do-12
WILLIAM WHITESIDE, BURGJEOS
DENTIST.—Office in North Qaeen etreet, M tear
from Orange, and directly over Sprenger M Weetlueffiw**
Book Storo.
Lancaster, may 27, 1856.
Newton lightnee, attoeiby
AT LAW, has removed his Office to North Dnke street,
to tho room recently occupied by Hon. I. B. Hiefiter.
Lancaster, apr 1 tf ll ■
Jesse Landis* —Attorney at Law. Office On* door
east of Ladder's Hotel, E. King St., Lancaster Pa.
S 3, All kinds of Screening—such as writing Wills,
Deeds, Mortgage*. Accounts, Ac., will be'attended to with
correctness and despatch. may 16, ’66 ttlT
Aldus J. Neff, Attorney at Lai*;.—Office wift
B. A. Shtefter,’E*q., south-west cornerofOentre Square,
next door to Wager’s Wine Store, Lancaster, Pa.
may 15,1855 ly-lf
James Black.—Attorney at Law. Office la S.
King street, two doors east of Lee bier’s Hotel, Lan
caster, Pa.
49“ All business connected with his profession, and’
all kinds of writing, such as preparing Heeds, Mortgages,
Wills, Stating Accounts, Ac., promptly attended to.
may 16. . tMT
Removal. —WILLAM B.i FOBDNJBY, Attorney al
Law has removed his office from N. Queen st. to the
building In the South East corner of Centre Square, for
merly known as Hubley’s Hotel.
Lancaster, april 10
Dr. J. T. Baker, Homepathlc Physician, suoOMior,
to Dr. WAllister. - i •- • •- -
Office In E. Orange St, nearly opposite ft* First G*r-.
man Reformed Church. '. •' ‘
Lancaster, April 17 ; .
Medical —dr. jm. j. atrorn,
pbla, and a Graduate of.the University of
1846, has located himself and opened an Om» ib'tb£Tlp/<
lageofPandfea,Uncuta..oqanty, whm-htpM aft All.
times he consul tefraxeafr* twa yrrJasrtiVifly ’•
NO. 6$